The Brumen Foundation, Slovenia’s foremost design organisation, has prepared, in association with the National Gallery of Slovenia, an exhibition of work by one of the most prominent Slovene creative artists – graphic designer Miljenko Licul.
The justification of the Prešeren Award for his life’s work, which Miljenko Licul received in 2008, states that “he is one of those artists that have helped to bring a different, poetic language into the rigid Modernist style of the graphic design of the seventies, without negating the content and historical aspect of the task … He is a designer that has consolidated the international validity of Slovene graphic design.”
Licul created his own recognisable, visually gracious and balanced style of design. He was a visionary designer of the visual appearance of Slovenia as a nation and the co-creator of its identity. He designed Slovenia’s money, the tolar banknotes and coins, the tolar reserve banknotes, the tolar commemorative coins, the Slovene side of the euro coins, a series of memorial and collector coins, passports, the identity card, the new driver’s licence and health insurance cards, the corporate image of the Schengen border crossings with the Republic of Croatia (not implemented unfortunately), regular and commemorative stamps, as well as a whole host of corporate images for subjects and institutions of national importance (City Council of the City of Ljubljana, National Gallery of Slovenia, Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of the Republic of Slovenia, University of Ljubljana with its academies and faculties, Institute of Oncology, etc.).
Yet Miljenko Licul was also a sensitive artist of corporate graphic images, logos, exhibitions, calendars, brochures, posters, books and magazines for various institutions, companies, persons … Let us list but a few: corporate images for the League of Communists of Slovenia, Young Socialist League of Slovenia and unions, corporate images for business companies and their products or services (Iskra, Lek, Državna založba Slovenije, Cankarjeva založba, Slovenijales, Bohinj – oaza Alp, Pivovarna Laško, Hit, Iskraemeco, Park Škocjanske jame, Factor banka, Vzajemna ...), cultural institutions and events (Cankarjev dom, International Council of the Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID) congress, several editions of the Biennial of Industrial Design, projects for the National Gallery of Slovenia, Božidar Jakac Gallery, Škofja Loka Museum, Association of Freelance Architects (DESSA), monographs and books of Janez Boljka, Tomaž Kržišnik, Meta Hočevar, Zvest Apollonio, Janez Bernik, Marko Mušič, a series of photographic monographs of Joco Žnidaršič ...)
The creativity of Miljenko Licul is synonymous with effective communication, the advancement of visual culture as well as understanding of the world. His works have been considered as a reference of the highest quality for quite some time. A monograph will be published to accompany the exhibition including all of the artist’s major works.
Exhibition
Organisers
Brumen Foundation and the National Gallery of Slovenia
Organisation committee
Dušan Benko, Barbara Jaki, Ranko Novak, Petra Černe Oven, Peter Skalar
Concept and exhibition set-up
Ranko Novak
Organisation of technical work
Jože Raspet and the technical team of the National Gallery of Slovenia
Monograph
Publisher and co-publisher
Brumen Foundation and the National Gallery of Slovenia
Editor
Petra Černe Oven
Editorial committee
Dušan Benko, Barbara Jaki, Ranko Novak, Peter Skalar
Texts
Stane Bernik, Mate Dolenc, Meta Hočevar, Matjaž Kocbek, Željko Kozinc, Petra Černe Oven, Peter Skalar, Andrej Smrekar, Jernej Stritar, Vesna Teržan, Gojko Zupan
Graphic design
Peter Skalar
Photographic portraits
Joco Žnidaršič
The project was supported by
Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia; Bank of Slovenia; Cetis; Factor banka; Kranjska investicijska družba; City Council of the City of Ljubljana; Pivovarna Laško; Pristop; Futura; Gorenjski tisk; Kogl; Riko
10 February – 8 May 2011
National Gallery of Slovenia, Entrance hall
Prešernova 24
1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia